o Campbell-Based ChargePoint Raises $82 Million for European Expansion

Campbell, Calif. -- ChargePoint, the Campbell-based developer of an electric vehicle (EV) charging network, said it has landed $82 million in funding, the first part of what ultimately will be an even larger round, led by automaker Daimler. Previous backers BMW i Ventures, Linse Capital, Rho Capital Partners and Braemar Energy Ventures also participated in the round, which the company will use to expand its charging network into Europe. "The automobile industry is at an inflection point, with more vehicles coming onto the market offering highly advanced electric powertrains than any other time in the world's history," said CEO Pasquale Romano. "The significant investment by our lead investor Daimler and others not only underscores a collective commitment to e-mobility around the world, but lays the groundwork for Europe's most comprehensive charging network." ChargePoint, which now has raised more than $255 million since its inception, currently operates more than 33,000 charging ports where electric vehicles can refuel. Axel Harries, an executive at Daimler, will join the company's board of directors. http://www.chargepoint.com https://www.chargepoint.com/about/news/chargepoint-raises-82-million-pave-way-e-mobility-europe/ _____________________________________________

Mountain View, Calif. -- VeloCloud Networks, a Mountain View-based developer of technology designed to simplify branch WAN networking by automating deployment, said on Thursday it has raised $35 million in its fourth round of funding, led by Hermes Growth Partners. New investors Telstra Ventures and Khazanah Nasional Berhad also joined previous backers New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Venrock, March Capital Partners and Cisco Investments in the round. The company, which now has raised $84 million since its inception, said it will use the proceeds to accelerate product development, expand customer support and increase sales and marketing activities worldwide. "We are experiencing significantly more growth than we even predicted," said co-founder and CEO Sanjay Uppal. "With this new round of funding we are able to stay well ahead of this new level of demand we are experiencing." VeloCloud's products help customers expand their wide area networks to support application growth, network agility and simplified branch implementations, while delivering optimized access to cloud datacenters and applications.http://www.velocloud.com/ http://www.velocloud.com/news/press-releases _____________________________________________

o Santa Clara-Based Hedvig Raises $21.5 Million in Third Round

Santa Clara, Calif. -- Hedvig, a Santa Clara-based provider of software-defined storage for enterprises building private, hybrid or multi-cloud environments, said on Thursday it has raised $21.5 million in its third round of funding. Participants included new investors EDBI and Hewlett Packard Pathfinder, as well as previous backers Atlantic Bridge Ventures, True Ventures and Vertex Ventures. The company, which now has raised $52 million since its inception, said it will use the latest proceeds expand into new markets, develop cloud and backup tools for large enterprises and grow its engineering, sales and channel teams. "All sectors of enterprise IT are being hit by new demands from the massive wave of emerging digital businesses," said founder and CEO Avinash Lakshman. "It's a wake-up call for the storage industry and a signal that a flexible, simple software-defined storage solution is needed for primary and secondary storage in the era of cloud." The company also named Ediz Ertekin as its senior vice president of worldwide sales and field operations. Ertekin most recently served as the senior vice president of worldwide sales at Striim, and previously was the vice president of field operations at SnapLogic. http://www.hedviginc.com http://www.hedviginc.com/press-releases/hedvig-raises-twenty-one-point-five-million-series-c-to-cement-leadership-in-software-defined-storage-market _____________________________________________

o San Francisco-Based Zenrez Lands $6 Million in First Round of Funding

San Francisco -- Zenrez, a San Francisco-based developer of yield management software tools for fitness studios, said on Thursday it has $6 million in its first round of funding, led by ARTIS Ventures. Previous backers Summit Action Fund, Precursor Ventures, Nucleus Adventure Capital, C2 Ventures and Transmedia Capital also participated in the round, which raised the company's total funding to $10 million. Zenrez said it will use the proceeds to expand into more major cities, as well as into other fitness and wellness services beyond classes. Co-founder and CEO Matthew Capizzi said his company is finding its niche in helping boutique studios shift from traditional subscription models to more complex pay-as-you-go packs. "There's much more revenue potential in the pay-as-you-go model, the challenge becomes maximizing utilization because you only get paid when people workout," said Capizzi. "This means creating a consistently great product so your customers want to come back as well as offering flexible pricing options to ensure you're hitting all fitness-goer segments. Zenrez addresses the latter which helps unlock latent demand and drive additional bookings." The company currently works with 500 studios in cities including San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Pittsburgh and Seattle. By the end of this year, it hopes to increase that figure top more than 2,000.https://www.zenrez.com/ http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170302005820/en/Health-Fitness-Leader-Zenrez-Lands-6-Million _____________________________________________ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

Bluetooth World 2017, 28-29 March, Santa Clara Convention Center

Join us to get inspired and discover the future of connectivity and IoT.

There's nothing more inspirational than seeing, playing and experiencing amazing IoT gadgets that have successfully gone to market and made it big.

Entry is FREE and you will be able to visit the various zones including Automotive, Audio, Smart Home and Health & Fitness, test your innovations at the Testing Stations and meet a range of suppliers.

For just $50 you also have access to a wide range of developer sessions as well as hear from inspirational keynotes from big brands including Garmin, Google, Zipcar and Plantronics.

(Mountain View, Calif.) Mountain View-based cyber security company Symantec said on Thursday it has launched Symantec Ventures, a new investment arm focused on funding cyber security startups. In addition to contributing capital, the firm aims to help the startup community reduce expenses and accelerate time to market. https://www.symantec.com/symantec-ventures

Join us to get inspired and discover the future of connectivity and IoT. There's nothing more inspirational than seeing, playing and experiencing amazing IoT gadgets that have successfully gone to market and made it big. Entry is FREE and you will be able to visit the various zones including Automotive, Audio, Smart Home and Health & Fitness, test your innovations at the Testing Stations and meet a range of suppliers. For just $50 you also have access to a wide range of developer sessions as well as hear from inspirational keynotes from big brands including Garmin, Google, Zipcar and Plantronics. Register for FREE entry or purchase an 'Access all areas pass' for just $50! For more information: https://bluetoothworldevent.com _____________________________________________ > Private VC Event with 3Q Digital at Google San Francisco

When can three hours make you millions of dollars? When 3Q Digital and Google host you as part of an exclusive focus group of VCs to explain two things: what makes a start-up viable; and what digital tools they can and should use to recognize their potential. On Feb. 28, from 4-7 pm at Google's San Francisco office, join 3Q Digital CEO David Rodnitzky and select Google experts to hear how 3Q has grown some of the Bay Area's biggest companies (Eventbrite, GoPro, SurveyMonkey, Square, and more) from seed money to household brand -- and what those companies had in common at the beginning. You'll also learn why we've turned down partnerships with so many start-ups seeking digital marketing over the years, and you'll get a first-hand look at Google's most current suite of digital growth tools. The event is intimate (and so exclusive we're holding it in a secret room). If you'd like to claim your spot, please claim your spot here, https://3qdigital.com/private-vc-event-3q-digital-google-san-francisco/ _____________________________________________

> The Shifting Sands of Employee Motivation

The old "if-then motivators" of giving bonuses for the achievement of goals no longer work. Work has become too complex and is changing too rapidly for such simple formulas to be relevant and to motivate performance. Here, we summarize research on shifts in employee motivators. http://www.fairfaxcountyeda.org/bay-area-tech-wire _____________________________________________ > Director of the Department of Technology/Chief Information Officer

The City and County of San Francisco is conducting a national search for an engaging, customer-service driven executive to oversee the award-winning Department of Technology with over 220 employees and an annual operating budget of nearly $100 million. The Director of the Department of Technology/Chief Information Officer (Director of DT/CIO) is at-will management-level position reporting to the Mayor with functional reporting to the City Administrator. Interested candidates should apply by by submitting a compelling cover letter, comprehensive resume, and current salary to apply@ralphandersen.com. Confidential inquiries welcomed to Ms. Heather Renschler at (916) 630-4900. Detailed brochure available at www.ralphandersen.com. _____________________________________________ > Advertising on Bay Area Tech Wire

Post jobs, events, webinars, whitepapers or service ads on Bay Area Tech Wire and grow your business. Reach more than 7,000 business and technology professionals from the Bay Area.http://www.bayareatechwire.com/

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